Amoeba Music

Cale's distinguished and impressive resume spans several genres and styles: collaborations with avant-garde musician La Monte Young, composer Terry Riley, and ambient music pioneer Brian Eno; productions for Nico, Patti Smith, The Stooges, and The Modern Lovers; and, of course, he was a co-founder of The Velvet Underground. By 1973, he had a solo album (1970's excellent Vintage Violence) and several experimental projects released; Paris 1919 found Cale shifting towards a baroque and classical-influenced sound, with help from producer Chris Thomas and a backing band consisting mostly of members of Little Feat. Lushly orchestrated opener "Child's Christmas In Wales" evokes childhood memories with vivid imagery; Cale's richly nuanced vocals deliver such juxtaposing lines as "Ten murdered oranges bled on board ship" and "Good neighbours were we all" with the same subtle beauty. The haunting, stately "Hanky Panky Nohow" conjures the image of madness and paranoia subdued by "some memories of planing lakes." Tensity builds within the piano-driven "The Endless Plain Of Fortune," "Andalucia" is a wistful, lovelorn acoustic ballad, and tearing rocker "Macbeth" shakes things up mid-album. The title track rides on driving piano and swells of symphonic strings and horns (courtesy of the UCLA Symphonic Orchestra), "Graham Greene"'s playful tune alludes to the British playwright, and "Half Past France" takes the point-of-view of a soldier during wartime on a train "somewhere between Dunkirk and Paris," and the longing to return home. Throughout, Cale's lyrics make cultural and literary references to poet Dylan Thomas, Shakespeare, Enoch Powell, northern France, Segovia, Berlin, and the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard ("the paranoid great movie queen" in Cale's whispered album closer "Antarctica Starts Here"). The 2006 reissued edition, available as an import from Rhino UK, features the original 9-song album remastered in stunning clarity, plus an additional 12 bonus tracks. Included is the session outtake "Burned Out Affair," each song on the album in an alternate or demo form (of particular note is the drone mix of "Hanky Panky Nohow" with electric viola, and the strings mix of the title track), a piano mix of "Paris 1919," and a hidden instrumental version of "Macbeth"; and the CD's booklet features an extensive essay by Matthew Specktor that provides some historical context and very interesting insight into the recordings. All in all, it's an honest and thorough testament to a brilliant album. It quickly became one of my all-time favorite albums from the very first listen. Paris 1919 is John Cale's most accessible album; a beautiful, bravura moment in a long and thrilling career.